AN
ADDRESS BY THE BoT, CHAIMAN OF APGA, GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE, HIS
EXCELLENCY CHIEF WILLIE OBIANO AT THE SPECIAL CONVENTION HELD BY THE ALL
PROGRESSIVE GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA) AT THE WOMEN DEVELOPMENT CENTER, AWKA
ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014.
PROTOCOL
With
great humility, I thank you for the challenge you have handed to me to
serve this great party as your National Leader and Chairman of the Board
of Trustees. Most men live out their lives without ever knowing what it
takes to provide leadership beyond the narrow confines of the family. I
count myself lucky for all the opportunities you have given to me in
the past 12 months. I have made rapid progress on the ladder of
leadership and climbed several steps through ordinary membership of this
great party to become a gubernatorial candidate, a governor and finally
a Leader and BOT Chairman.
I am eternally grateful to you all for this and I say thank you for giving me this moment.
Fellow
party faithful, in choosing me to provide leadership for our great
party, you have made a bold and courageous decision to move beyond the
crossroads of doubt to a whole new era of hope. So, I welcome this great
responsibility with a quote by the foremost African-American novelist
and critic, James Baldwin who once said that “There is never time in the
future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the
moment; the time is always now.”
Ladies
and gentlemen, the time to carve a new pathway for Nigeria has finally
come. Looking back into history, we are reminded that our forebears paid
the most prize for the greater good of this country, championing the
nationalist struggles that gave birth to political independence. Today,
we begin the march to re-possess the front-row of the new struggle to
remake Nigeria.
Time
and time again, experience has shown that it takes only a few
determined men and women to change the course of history. I am
determined to provide the quality leadership that will galvanize this
great party to assume the fullness of its height and set the tone for a
new Nigeria. I count on your support to achieve this.
Fellow
compatriots, like all political movements, APGA has gone through
different stages in its life cycle. Happily, we have progressed through
the dark periods of uncertainties and self-doubt into the sparkling rays
of a bright new day. Today, our fundamentals are stronger and our
chances are brighter. I must thank all faithful members of this movement
who have evolved through moments of uncertainty to the days of hope. In
an environment where loyalty is fluid, it is almost a labour of love to
maintain fidelity to one political party. It is on account of this that
I must ask you to stand up for a moment of silence in memory of our
great leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, whose presence is
strongly felt among us here today. I must thank other past leaders of
the party who laid the foundation that we are building on today. I fully
acknowledge the immense contributions of the immediate past Chairman of
the BoT and my predecessor in office, the former governor of Anambra
State, His Excellency Chief Peter Obi. Although he is no more here with
us, I know that he carries the spirit of APGA wherever he goes. In
similar measure, I must thank the National Chairman, the titan himself; I
call him Ogbunigwe, Chief Victor Umeh and his team for holding this
great family together through the various spells of turbulence. We are
here today because you people stood firm through the years, against all
odds.
Fellow
party faithful, when you look around you, you will see the handwriting
on the wall. Our great party has made a grand entry into a new phase of
growth. Now, more than ever before, the strength of this party lies in
the quality of our membership and our common resolve to pursue
progressive steps for the greatness of Nigeria. Today, our resolve is
even stronger.
Under
my watch, APGA shall assume its manifest destiny. We can all see this
great new beginning with the emergence of Dr. Alex Otti as the
gubernatorial candidate of our party in Abia State and the emergence of
Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho as the standard bearer in Imo State. When I
listened to the passionate speech delivered by Dr. Otti at the Aba
Recreation Club last week, I knew that Ndi Abia finally have a chance to
be great again. I also saw in that speech a great future for APGA and
for Nigeria. With people like Otti and Iheanacho, our ship is finally
ready to sail and we shall not relent until we have added neighouring
states like Enugu and Ebonyi as well as other key states in the country,
to this illustrious list.
Ladies
and gentlemen, we have just come out of the primaries. Like all
contests, there are winners and losers. But in APGA, there are actually
no losers; what we have are people who have been asked to try another
time. Of course there are complaints and silent protests. No electoral
process supervised by man can be devoid of that. However, under my
watch, APGA shall continuously strive for perfection in our electoral
processes. We shall continue to evolve internally and externally.
Internally
we shall improve on our fundamentals and strengthen internal democracy
that will inspire loyalty to the party. Externally, we shall be more
vigorous in the projection of our ideology through responsible and
responsive governance. Thankfully APGA has established a worthy
tradition of excellence in Anambra State. It will soon take roots in
Abia and Imo States come May 29, 2015 when Otti and Iheanacho will be
sworn in as governors.
Great
party men and women, as we approach the election year, it should be
clear to us that we must fight together and win as a team. Consequently,
all complaints and protestations arising from the just concluded
primaries must be settled with ease. While it is pertinent to remind you
that there can only be one winner at a time, let me assure you that all
genuine cases of grievance shall be given a fair hearing. We can hardly
afford to carry our grievances and discontent into the coming days of
intense political campaigns. All wounds must heal and heal very fast.
Our internal cohesiveness is a pre-condition for victory at the polls.
APGA must win the coming race together in all available elective
positions across the country except the Presidency. But even so, we
shall still win because we shall not only vote for President Goodluck
Jonathan but we shall work to ensure that he wins the Presidential
Election.
Fellow
compatriots, as we prepare to enter the New Year, I urge you to hold
your head up high while campaigning for APGA victory in the coming
elections. As I earlier observed, our fundamentals are infinitely
strong. In the last few months, we have had one or two defectors but we
have absorbed thousands of defectors from other parties. The beauty of
this development is that this party still retains its inner core. That
is enough to build on. And that is what we have been called upon to do.
Fellow
party men and women, in the coming months, we shall push for more
territories for APGA. We shall go from street to street and from door to
door to win new members over to the party.
As
you leave this hall today to return to your various states, cities,
communities and towns, take with you, the message of hope. Tell your
family, your friends and your neighbours that APGA represents the change
that Nigeria has been clamouring for. Tell them to join this train
before it leaves the station.
Once
again I leave you with the words of Michelangelo, the great Italian
Renaissance man, “the greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim
is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
Let us keep aiming for the top of the mountain. When we miss it, we land
on top of a hill.
A-P-G-A -------APGA
A-P-G-A--------APGA
A-P-G-A--------APGA
Thank you
Chief Willie Obiano
BoT Chairman of APGA
Governor, Anambra State
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